ISSUE_OPPORTUNITIES.md

GitHub Copilot CLI Issues - Plugin Opportunities

This document tracks GitHub Copilot CLI issues that we can solve with plugins.

High-Priority Issues (Can Solve with Plugins)

✅ SOLVED: #947 - Auto-compaction breaks full conversation history

Status: Plugin built and published
Plugin: AntiCompactionPlugin
Solution: github/copilot-cli#947 (comment)

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🎯 #1005 & #994 - Orphaned tool_calls/tool_results causing API errors

Impact: HIGH - Users getting crashes on long sessions and model switching
Root Cause: K8l function only handles one direction of orphaned messages
Plugin Solution:

class MessageRepairPlugin {
  name = 'message-repair';
  
  async onBeforeSend(context, options) {
    // Intercept before sending to API
    // Clean up orphaned tool_calls and tool_results
    const messages = options.messages || [];
    
    // Step 1: Collect all tool_call IDs
    const allToolCallIds = new Set();
    messages.forEach(msg => {
      if (msg.role === 'assistant' && msg.tool_calls) {
        msg.tool_calls.forEach(tc => allToolCallIds.add(tc.id));
      }
    });
    
    // Step 2: Filter out orphaned tool_results
    const cleanedMessages = messages.filter(msg => {
      if (msg.role === 'tool' && msg.tool_call_id) {
        if (!allToolCallIds.has(msg.tool_call_id)) {
          console.log(`⚠️  MessageRepairPlugin: Removing orphaned tool_result: ${msg.tool_call_id}`);
          return false;
        }
      }
      return true;
    });
    
    // Step 3: Find orphaned tool_calls
    const seenResultIds = new Set(
      cleanedMessages.filter(m => m.role === 'tool').map(m => m.tool_call_id)
    );
    const orphanedCallIds = [...allToolCallIds].filter(id => !seenResultIds.has(id));
    
    // Step 4: Add fake results for orphaned tool_calls
    if (orphanedCallIds.length > 0) {
      console.log(`⚠️  MessageRepairPlugin: Adding ${orphanedCallIds.length} fake results for orphaned tool_calls`);
      const fakeResults = orphanedCallIds.map(id => ({
        role: 'tool',
        tool_call_id: id,
        content: 'The execution of this tool was interrupted.'
      }));
      cleanedMessages.push(...fakeResults);
    }
    
    return { ...options, messages: cleanedMessages };
  }
}

Why this works:

• Fixes bugs at SDK layer BEFORE they hit the API
• Works for ALL models (GPT, Claude, etc.)
• Handles both session resume AND model switching
• Community gets fix TODAY instead of waiting for GitHub

Next Steps:

1. Build plugin
2. Test with long sessions
3. Test with model switching
4. Comment on both issues with solution

---

🎯 #991 - sessionStart/sessionEnd hooks fire per-prompt instead of per-session

Impact: MEDIUM - Developers can't reliably track actual sessions
Plugin Solution:

class SessionLifecyclePlugin {
  name = 'session-lifecycle';
  private actualSessionStart = null;
  
  async onSessionCreated(context) {
    // Track ACTUAL session start (only once)
    if (!this.actualSessionStart) {
      this.actualSessionStart = Date.now();
      console.log('🔵 ACTUAL SESSION START');
      await this.onActualSessionStart(context);
    }
  }
  
  async onSessionEnd(context) {
    // Only fire actual end on real session end
    if (this.actualSessionStart) {
      console.log('🔴 ACTUAL SESSION END');
      const duration = Date.now() - this.actualSessionStart;
      await this.onActualSessionEnd(context, duration);
      this.actualSessionStart = null;
    }
  }
  
  // User hooks
  async onActualSessionStart(context) {
    // User's code here
  }
  
  async onActualSessionEnd(context, duration) {
    // User's code here
  }
}

---

🎯 #995 - Add ability to retry last request manually

Impact: MEDIUM - Users want to retry failed requests
Plugin Solution:

class RetryPlugin {
  name = 'retry';
  private lastRequest = null;
  
  async onBeforeSend(context, options) {
    // Check for /retry command
    if (options.message === '/retry' && this.lastRequest) {
      console.log('🔄 Retrying last request...');
      return this.lastRequest;
    }
    
    // Save for potential retry
    this.lastRequest = { ...options };
    return options;
  }
  
  async onAfterReceive(context, response) {
    // If error, suggest retry
    if (response.error) {
      console.log('\n💡 TIP: Type /retry to retry the last request\n');
    }
    return response;
  }
}

---

🎯 #993 - Add debug log coverage for skills loading

Impact: LOW - Developers want more visibility
Plugin Solution:

class DebugLoggerPlugin {
  name = 'debug-logger';
  
  async onLoad() {
    console.log('🐛 Debug logging enabled');
  }
  
  async onSessionCreated(context) {
    console.log('🐛 Session created:', {
      sessionId: context.sessionId,
      model: context.model,
      timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
    });
  }
  
  async onBeforeSend(context, options) {
    console.log('🐛 Before send:', {
      message: options.message?.substring(0, 100),
      messageLength: options.message?.length,
      hasTools: !!options.tools,
      timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
    });
    return options;
  }
  
  async onAfterReceive(context, response) {
    console.log('🐛 After receive:', {
      responseType: typeof response,
      hasError: !!response.error,
      timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
    });
    return response;
  }
}

---

Build Priority

1. MessageRepairPlugin - Fixes critical crashes (issues #1005, #994)
2. RetryPlugin - High user demand (#995)
3. SessionLifecyclePlugin - Developer experience (#991)
4. DebugLoggerPlugin - Developer experience (#993)

Strategy

For each plugin:

1. ✅ Build and test locally
2. ✅ Add to built-in plugins
3. ✅ Update README
4. ✅ Publish new version to npm
5. ✅ Comment on GitHub issue with solution
6. ✅ Track adoption and feedback

Success Metrics

• npm downloads - Track package adoption
• Issue engagement - Comments, reactions, +1s
• GitHub stars - Repo popularity
• Community plugins - Other developers building on our system
• GitHub team response - Acknowledgment or adoption

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🏴‍☠️ "Find pain, build solutions, ship fast." - Captain CP